Chris Nolan Speaks About “Interstellar”

Christopher Nolan appeared at CinemaCon this week to promote his upcoming sci-fi epic “Interstellar” to the various exhibitors in attendance. Speaking with press afterwards, Nolan says the theatrical presentation of this film will be more crucial than his other work:

“On this film the technical aspect of how this film is presented is really going to be more important than on any film I’ve done before, so that means getting into partnership with the studios and theatres.

We shot quite a lot of the film in IMAX, more than we had ever done in the past. There will be some really beautiful IMAX film prints that will be in certain key locations. And we are really maximizing the various technical capabilities out there, particularly in the sound mix.

We have very ambitious plans in how we are going to take a very big approach as to how we maximize the potential of the existing sound system in theatres.”

He also talked about the tone of the film:

“I grew up in an era that was a golden age of the blockbuster, when something we might call a family film could have universal appeal. That’s something I want to see again. In terms of the tone of the film, it looks at where we are as a people and has a universality about human experience.”

Nolan used practical locations rather than CGI whenever possible. For scenes set within a space shuttle, actual images outside the windows so the actors could see what their characters would see. Nolan used his speech to exhibitors to push for his favourite format – film, more specifically IMAX film:

“I am not committed to film out of nostalgia. I am in favor of any kind of technical innovation but it needs to exceed what has gone before and so far nothing has exceeded anything that’s come before (meaning film).”

He also said cinema technological innovations were focused too much on the home and should be more focused on the theatrical experience, and theatre owners should show more re-releases.